In vino veritas? The long search for a definition of wine tourism
Terrance G. Weatherbee, Donna J. SearsPurpose
This paper aims to address the persistent definitional issue surrounding wine tourism and argues that such pluralism is not a sign of theoretical immaturity, nor evidence of a singular underlying essence, but a structural feature of the concept itself.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the concept of family resemblance, the paper reconceptualises wine tourism as a cluster concept whose instances share overlapping and crisscrossing features without any single defining property.
Findings
Existing definitions of wine tourism variously foreground motivation, place, activity, cultural experience, and economic exchange as key criteria. This diversity reflects an absence of necessary and sufficient conditions. Conceptualising wine tourism as a cluster concept provides a more coherent explanation for this variation and reframes the expectation of definitional convergence in the literature.
Research limitations/implications
The paper advances a conceptual rather than empirical argument. Its principal implication is a shift in research focus from the search for a universal definition towards the empirical mapping of feature clusters, prototype identification and the development of multidimensional instruments capable of representing the diversity of wine tourism phenomena across contexts.
Originality/value
Rather than proposing another substantive definition of wine tourism, this paper offers a novel explanation for the field’s persistent definitional plurality and provides a foundation for polythetic approaches to classification, measurement, and comparative research.